


The Ambrosius Family Tree

by Linorien



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Court Sorcerer Merlin, Golden Era AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3462110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the urging of Gaius, Geoffrey has found out that Court Sorcerer Merlin was actually already a noble by way of the Ambrosius family tree. However, Merlin discovers he is not the only member of the Camelot Court who is descended from that great king. Gwen is also on a branch of the family tree and she maybe have received more than just a family seal from their shared ancestry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unexpected Relations

[ ](http://imgur.com/lmPAfY8)

 

Merlin and Arthur were walking towards the library, side by side as usual. Both dressed in casual attire, perfectly in step with each other. This was all normal. What was strange, though, was the reason. They had both been summonsed to the library by Geoffrey. Arthur still had a childhood fear of the man and Merlin was cautiously wary of him so they were a little worried.

"What do you think he wants us for?"

"Why would I know? I hardly ever go in the library." Arthur made a face. "It smells all musty in there."

"That's the smell of old books," Merlin responded. "It's a comforting smell."

Arthur just grunted. He gave up trying to understand his best friend's peculiarities many years ago. They had now reached the library and, taking a deep breath first, they strode in.

"Good evening my lords," the ancient librarian greeted them. Merlin shifted uncomfortably at the use of his title but Arthur simply nodded back. "I've asked you both here because I found some old records that might interest you both."

"Records? That's Arthur's domain," Merlin said quickly. "He is better at those sorts of things."

"Merlin, you have a better grasp on the classical languages than our King and you know an additional language besides. If anything, records should be your area." Arthur was torn between being triumphant that Merlin couldn't leave and being upset that the former peasant was better educated than him. "Have a seat at the table over here, both of you." Geoffrey shuffled to one of the study tables and the boys say down on the bench opposite him.

A book lay open on the table before then and he pointed to the right hand page.

"Gaius asked me a while ago to look up the Ambrosius line. He wouldn't tell me why. I must confess with you changing all the laws it has kept me busy and it had been pushed to the back of my mind. I finally found it though and I understand why he asked it of me. Arthur? What do you remember learning about the Ambrosius family?"

"Not much, sorry." He knew that history was his least favourite subject but he did hate to be a disappointment to his tutor. "They were a very old and powerful family. They were Kings once but their lands became part of Esseter a long time ago. And I remember that at some point the line disappeared."

"Good." Geoffrey was pleased. "That's most of the important bit. When they gave up their land to the king of the more united land, they were still high ranking lords. Unlike many other small kings that became absorbed and settled down as dukes, the former King Alexander became a universal ambassador. He traveled from kingdom to kingdom learning their cultures, their laws, and helping to mediate relations between them.

"Here's where your education was stunted though. We do know what became of the Ambrosius family." Arthur raised his eyebrows at this.

"By the time you were born, many of his descendants had filtered down into the lower classes of society, but one was still prominent. He had been at Camelot often. This was Balinor, your father."

"My father?" Merlin was having trouble wrapping his mind around this. "My father was an Ambrosius?"

"And so, by extension are you."

"No way," Arthur scoffed. "Merlin? A noble?"

"See for yourself sire." Geoffrey redirected their attention to the book before them. Here was the Ambrosius family tree branching out all the way down to Balinor II, son of Lessi Ambrosius and Peter Waters. Clearly they chose to keep the Ambrosius family name even when the husband was outside of the family.

"You know what this means, Arthur?" Merlin said with a slowly spreading grin. "Since my family is older than yours, that means I, Lord Merlin Ambrosius, outrank you."

"MERLIN!"

***

The initial excitement passed quickly. Merlin was still Merlin even though he had a very noble family history and a family crest. But the man himself kept finding every opportunity to head to the library and read up on his family history. For a poor farm boy who knew only his mother, this was amazing. He knew he had a destiny going forwards, but to find out he had a rich history was something else. It felt like he had a legacy to live up to. It felt daunting until he mentioned this to Gaius. His mentor raised the infamous eyebrow and reminded him that "although you don't like to think of it this way, you are a figure of prophesy and your birth and great deeds have been foretold ages before. It's very likely that your ancestors grew up trying to live up to you." Blushing furiously, Merlin ducked his head and didn't mention that feeling again. Although he had helped bring magic back to the land and four of the five kingdoms were united, Merlin still felt like that was more Arthur than him. He certainly didn't feel like a legend no matter how much the Druids praised him.

It was when he had returned to studying the family tree when he discovered something of further interest.

On one of the more distant branches of the family tree, there was a handwritten annotation at the bottom. It read, "Mary has since given birth to a son Thomas who is a blacksmith in Camelot." With a quick spell, he copied the page and set out to find Elyan. He found the knight polishing his sword in the armoury.

"Elyan?" Merlin asked tentatively. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He looked up at his friend. "Anything."

"Alright." Merlin shifted his weight from his left to his right foot. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to. I know the subject may be tricky and unwanted. But what I wondered was if your father ever mentioned his mother."

Elyan's hand stilled.

"As I said you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I know it's tough that your father died and once again I'm--"

"Merlin." Elyan held up a hand to still his speech. "It's fine. I was just thinking. And yes, he used to speak of her often. We visited her once or twice even. She lived on a farm somewhere outside of Camelot's borders. Mary, I believe her name was." Merlin nodded, deep in thought as Elyan kept talking about the stories his father used to tell.

"Right." Merlin cut him off mid-thought and the knight knew he had stopped listening a while ago. "Come with me." He spun on his heel and walked off. A bewildered knight put away his sword and followed his friend.

Merlin opened his senses to find Gwen and walked directly there. Without knocking he strode into her chambers.

"Merlin!" she half-heartedly scolded him. "Will you ever knock? I could've been dressing."

"I haven't knocked in twelve years and you were alone in the room so I knew you weren't dressing." Gwen rolled her eyes and greeted her brother as Merlin sat down at the table and cleared a spot. He pulled the rolled up paper from his jacket pocket and spread it flat on the table. The siblings sat down opposite him.

"Merlin, this is your family tree," Gwen began hesitantly. "Why are you showing this to us?"

"Because of what I just found. Look down here." He pointed to the handwritten note. "I asked Elyan and he said that your father's mother was named Mary. Now how many Mary's do you know that have given birth to a Tom the blacksmith?" He watched Gwen and Elyan with a small upturn of the lips as their eyes flicked between the parchment and each other.

"Are you saying what I think you are saying?" Elyan asked. "We are also part of the larger Ambrosius family?"

"Exactly!" Merlin's grin split his face. "We're family, Gwen!" She squealed in delight and jumped up to crush Merlin in a hug. "I did always say you were born to be a Queen."

"Pssh. That does not mean you knew all along." Merlin raised an eyebrow but he laughed as well. That was exactly what he was planning on claiming.

"Hey Merlin," the knight interrupted their giggles. "Do you realise what else this means?"

"You aren't actually a commoner knight?"

"No, you're related to Arthur." Merlin's wide eyes said it all.

 

 


	2. Because every piece of clothing should have pockets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Merlin has found a creative use for his magic.

**Two months later.**

 

Merlin was standing next to Arthur as they greeted the ambassador of a foreign Dukedom who was pledging allegiance to Arthur and Camelot. They had greeted him and his party formally on the front steps, but after they were given a short amount of time to clean up, they reconvened in the great hall for a formal presentation of gifts. Arthur and Merlin both agreed that it seemed frivolous to wear all their formal wear just to accept a few gifts of goodwill in a ceremony that took only twenty minutes tops. Gwen thought it was wonderful; which is why Merlin did not include her in the telepathic conversation between himself and Arthur.

As a servant, Arthur relied on Merlin making faces or brief whispered jokes when he needed more wine to keep him awake. With Merlin next to him now, they had settled into a habit of speaking telepathically.

_If his nose got any bigger, I think he might fall over when he bows to you._

_Maybe, but have you noticed that young squire near the back? He hasn't taken his eyes off of you, Merlin._

_Oh that's Peter, he grew up as a Druid. I asked him to meet with me tomorrow morning._

_He's looking at you like he wants to worship the ground you walk on. You're going to find him sleeping outside your door tonight._

_Oh no. After last time I set up wards to stop that. If you stand outside my door for too long you will suddenly find yourself on the top of the South tower._

Arthur was about to scold him when he noticed the ambassador had now approached with the gifts.

"Your majesty," he said with a deep bow before beckoning a servant forward with a large crate to set on the small table before him. He pulled out an elaborate goblet and held it forward. "I present you with a goblet made from the finest silver and embellished with Jade imported all the way from the the Asias."

"Thank you." Arthur nodded and motioned a page forward to accept the cup. He pulled out a colourful swath of fabric next.

"Also from the Far East, a scarf of the finest silk and woven with the story of Lin and Chang, the star crossed lovers of the Yellow River." Gwen stepped forward and accepted the scarf before passing it off to her maid. Lastly he pulled a small wooden box out and extended it towards Merlin.

 _Ooh, you get a gift too,_ Arthur teased.

"On behalf of my lord and the magic users in our lands, I present to you a deck of fortune cards to enhance your third eye."

Goddess save me, Merlin muttered as he stepped forward to accept the box. "Thank you." He slipped it in his pocket. The ambassador said his farewells and Arthur dismissed the room. He left the room through the back door with Merlin at his side.

"What am I going to do with all of these goblets?" Arthur complained  as soon as they left the room.

"Maybe they caught wind of my plan to start incinerating all future goblets you throw at my head."

"Maybe their court sorcerer saw that in the cards." Merlin let loose a bark of laughter.

"I can hardly sense the magic in these cards." He tossed the box of cards in the air a few times as they walked back to Arthur's chambers. "These will just get thrown up on a shelf to collect dust."

"You're not going to use them to see if there will be rain next week when we go on our hunting trip?"

"I doubt they would tell me anything as specific as that," Merlin scoffed and pushed open the door. "Besides, you would ignore me and we'll be hunting no matter what the weather." Arthur laughed.

"Wait." He stopped laughing suddenly and narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know your official robes had pockets."

"They don't."

"Then where did you pull the box of cards from?"

"I don't know what you mean." Merlin turned away as he habitually began to tidy up the room. "I had it in my hand."

"No you did not. You pushed open my door with both hands." Arthur lunged towards Merlin. "Did you add pockets to your robes?"

Merlin twisted out of the way. "No I did not!"

"You better not be lying to me. You promised!" Arthur threatened as he chased his friend.

"That's a low blow!" Merlin leapt over the bed to avoid Arthur.

"Not if it's true!" he shot back. Unfortunately for Merlin, he had now been backed into the corner. Arthur took his chance and lunged for Merlin's cloak to pull him closer.

Only his hands met nothing but air and he toppled forwards onto the ground. From the floor, he reached again for Merlin's clothes but his hand passed through with a slight shimmer. The warlock stood there with a sheepish look on his face. After a moment he dropped the illusion and stood above his friend in his comfortable trousers, his neckerchief, and his worn jacket into which he slowly slid the box of cards. He watched Arthur's face contort with anger and took that as a sign to run. He had only made it to the door when he heard Arthur bellow behind him.

"That's not fair!" And so giggling, Merlin ran to his tower and locked the door behind him. He didn't leave until tomorrow evening.

 

 


	3. Suspicious Signs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there more to Gwen than meets the eye.   
> Although very little gets by Merlin.

"Hey Merlin? Where are those cards you got yesterday?" Gwen had joined Merlin for lunch in his room. She noticed he hadn't cleaned in a while, typical, and she couldn't see where he had set them. For some reason, she had felt drawn to the cards.

"On the shelf somewhere," he replied. "Why?"

"I wanted to look through them. Curiosity really." He shrugged and with a flicker of gold in his eyes, the box flew over to the table, knocking a few other things off the shelf which hastily paused in midair and put themselves back on the shelf. Gwen took the cards out of the box and held them reverently in her hand. She felt a strange tingling of excitement with them in her hands. Flipping through the deck, she could almost feel like she understood the meaning of the cards. Unnoticed by her, Merlin watched her flip through the cards. He could feel a slight increase of the magical signature coming from the cards. Before he could investigate further, Gwen put the cards back in the box and closed the lid.

"If your going to just leave these on your shelf, do you mind if I take these? The artwork is beautiful."

"What? Yea, of course. I'm not going to use them." With a quick farewell, Gwen left a pensive Merlin alone with his soup.

***

Gwen had gotten into the habit of flipping through the cards every morning when Arthur was at training. Sometimes a particular card would stand out to her and she would study it closer as her handmaiden, Ella, braided her hair.

"What do you think today's card means, Lady Gwen?" she would ask on those occasions.

"I'm not sure. It feels like a good card though." Gwen studied the card called Persephone. It depicted a beautiful, dark skinned wearing a simple blue slip and surrounded by unfamiliar flowers. In the background there seemed to be a beach and a ship sailing in the distance. The woman was smiling and beckoning her closer. Gwen felt a calming presence steal over her when she gazed upon this card. "I think today will be a good day, Ella. Would you like to accompany me on a walk through the gardens? It's the beginning of Spring and the flowers should have started to bloom just last week."

 

Later in the same week, the card of the day was not such a good one. It was painted with dark colours and featured a griffin extending a flower with a smile while her barbed tail was tucked behind her. It gave her a feeling of uneasiness that she could not explain.

Only a few hours later, Arthur announced that he felt like taking her for a ride in the countryside. Just the two of them. No guards, no annoying nobles. Not even any knights with their squires. Just the two of them. And Merlin.

"I don't think you should go," he was protesting as they walked down the hall.

"Is this another one of your funny feelings, Merlin?" Arthur laughed.

"Don't dismiss then," he retorted. "They have saved your life more times than I can count."

"So not many then."

"If you think you are better at maths than me, why don't you figure out the taxes?"

"Shut up, Merlin."

"Actually, I agree with Merlin," Gwen added.

"Thank you."

"Don't tell me you believe in his funny feelings." Arthur looked mock hurt.

"Not exactly." Now Merlin's smirk fell while Arthur brightened. "Just on this one occasion maybe we should postpone till tomorrow."

"But tomorrow begins the weeklong meetings with the guild masters and I won't be able to get out."

"And Arthur wouldn't miss the wine tasting for the world," Merlin laughed and elbowed his friend. Arthur went to slap him in retaliation but Merlin was too nimble. "Sorry Gwen, I guess we have no choice." He started running down the hall.

"I expect you to meet us by the horses in no more than ten minutes!" Arthur yelled after the fleeing warlock.

 

Arthur had just started tapping his foot impatiently when Merlin magically appeared next to his horse and mounted up.

"Come on, Arthur. What are you waiting for?" Gwen only laughed when her husband scowled and stomped off to his own horse.

It was actually a very pleasant day. The flowers were in full bloom and the air was warm. Merlin even stowed his jacket and neckerchief in his bag to the amazement of Gwen.

"You mean that's not actually a part of your body?" she teased. "It comes off?"

"I'll have you know I didn't start wearing them regularly until I came to Camelot," he said in a very aloof tone. "It gets much too warm in the fields to be wearing more clothes than needed."

"Does that mean you used to take of your shirt in the company of others?" Arthur joined in.

"On occasion."

"I would very much like to see you with your shirt off." Gwen fluttered her eyes flirtatiously.

"The sight of his pale skin would blind you, my dear. It's practically transparent."

"So you have gazed upon the hidden wonder, my lord? What a privilege!" Arthur and Merlin made eye contact and couldn't contain their laughter any longer. Gwen too, dropped her act and joined in, all thoughts of her bad feeling vanquished.

They had a wonderful picnic lunch on the shore of a nearby lake. Dragonflies were flitting around, the fish were active, and the baby birds were chirping in the trees. Merlin even supplemented the natural beauty with a little wordless magic behind their backs.

It was on the way back that the peace was broken. Arthur called for a halt and Merlin and Gwen paused in their discussion of the dangers of the kitchen. Arthur dismounted and let his hand rest on his hilt. After a bit of rustling, a woman stepped out of the thick trees and stopped in shock.

"Oh! I'm sorry sirs," she apologised in a northern accent. She was dressed in simple clothes with a scarf wrapped around her head. "I didn't see you there. I am never paying any attention to anything else when I'm picking flowers."

"No need to apologise Miss," Arthur said as he released his hold on his sword. "No harm done. You should be making your way home very soon though. It will be dark soon."

"Of course, sir, my brother will begin to worry if I don't return soon." She reached into her basket. "Let me give you some of the flowers I have picked. For thanks. You can give them to your ladies." Arthur tried to protest but she ignored him, giving some lilacs first to Merlin, who took them with a wary eye and tucked them into his bag. Then she walked back to Arthur and reached into her basket once more. As she did so, however, she suddenly flew back with a shocked expression on her face. Gwen and Arthur turned to see Merlin with his arm outstretched, fiery eyes fading back to a serious blue.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled. "What did you do that for?" He walked forward to see if she was alright but Gwen stopped him.

"Arthur," she said. "Look at what's in her hand." He turned back to look closer and saw that her hand gripped a sharp dagger. Even in unconsciousness, her fingers held tight.

"Maybe she just uses it for protection?" Arthur tried to defend the woman half heartedly. "After all, there are still bandits near the borders of Camelot." His companions traded eye rolls and Merlin dismounted.

"Then explain why she only grabbed it when she had an excuse to reach into her basket and give something to you." He handed his reins to Gwen and grabbed a length of rope from his bag. Tying her hands behind her back he continued. "And there is no way she wouldn't have heard us approaching. There are three horses between us and Gwen and I weren’t exactly being quiet. She might not have necessarily been targeting you, as the King, but she was certainly lying in wait for someone with money." He gave the dagger to Arthur and hauled the limp body to an upright position.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll take her back to Camelot and she will be in the cells awaiting a trial by the time you get back." He called his bag over to him with a flick of his fingers.

"She can ride back on one of our horses. Gwen and I can share," Arthur tried to protest. "I know teleportation takes more energy than you let on despite how much you use it to play pranks on the rest of us."

"I can manage just fine." Merlin hoped he would; nothing a good night of sleep couldn't cure. "Besides," he patted his bag. "I also want to check that these are just normal flowers, not anything else dangerous. I'll see you back home." With that, the warlock and the woman disappeared from sight.

"I hate it when he does that."

***

The day of the trial, the card that stuck out to Gwen was an image of a physician's scales. It was balancing a feather in one plate and a shining gold ball on top of the other. This card was called Judgement and a seed of suspicion was planted in her mind.

 

 


	4. A Quiet Intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which even Gwen sometimes forgets how much of a manipulative genius Merlin is.

Next week, Gwen's suspicions grew as there was a small fire in the bakery the same day the card she almost picked was one of Hephaestus. She had instead, returned it to the deck and did not pick out a card for the day. After a few more similar instances, she finally went and knocked on Merlin's door.

"One moment!" Came a shout from inside followed by the thundering of footsteps and then the door swinging open to reveal her messy haired friend.

"Gwen!" he greeted her excitedly. "Come on in; I've just made tea. Sit down and I'll pour you a cup." Gwen did as she was bid and sat in the armchair next to the small table.

"Here you go." Merlin handed her a drink before perching on the stool, long fingers interlaced around his mug. "How are you Gwen?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Bit busy researching more crypt items. But never mind that; what have you come to ask me?"

"Oh, I can come back at a better time if you'd like." She stood to leave but Merlin waved her back down.

"Nonsense. I always have time for you. And I know you wouldn't have stopped by randomly unless there is some problem on your mind that you have been keeping to yourself far too long before coming to me. And if you're coming to me first, then it's something you believe only I can help you with."

Gwen sighed. "Right as always Merlin. It's a bit of a delicate topic. A little strange. Unexpected."

"Take a breath. Calm down and drink some of your tea then tell me." She took a long sip.

"I think," she said quietly. "I think I might have magic."

Merlin nodded sagely. "Alright. What lead you to that conclusion?"

"Do you recall those cards the ambassador gave you? Well something about them seemed to call to me. I can really say why. But when I look at them, I feel like I can almost understand what the image means without needing the title. And then some days one card really sticks out to me. The card is almost a warning of what the day will be like.

Last week when Eilean and Paddy announced that they were to be married, the card that stuck out was Cupid, with a painting of a young couple kissing and a bow and arrow above them. Maybe that could be passed off as a coincidence, but when we went riding and Arthur was almost stabbed," she paused.

"Which card was it?" Merlin asked gently. Gwen unclasped the pouch on her belt and handed the card over to Merlin.

"This was why you didn't want to go out that day, was it not?" She nodded. "I thought as much."

"Not that I don't trust your instincts anyway, I do, most of the time, but this time it was different. Wait, did you know?" she demanded as she processed what he had said.

"Not exactly." She narrowed her eyes. "Yes. I had most of it figured out."

"And you didn't tell me?" She snatched the card back.

"How exactly do you think you would've reacted if I said 'Hey Gwen. Since we are related I was thinking it might be possible for you to have some buried magical potential, I can't detect any though, but I noticed you seem to be drawn to these rubbish cards so do you want to take them and see if you can use them to see the future even though that drove Morgana mad and from personal experience it is as frustrating as trying to make friends with a serket, but why don't you try?' I'm quite sure it was best for you to figure it out on your own then come speak with me." Gwen was a little wide eyed at the end of his speech. Although he didn't have to hide anymore, it was still too easy to forget how intelligent Merlin was and how often he ran through every possible scenario in his head.

"How would you have known if it did start to drive me mad before I talked to you?"

"First of all, I know you will always come and ask for my advice if something is really plaguing your mind. Second, Ella would have told me."

"You told her?"

"Only that she should encourage you to talk about the cards with her. Even if she didn't know the whole story, I know it helps to have someone to talk with. After all, you have helped me with many problems that were magical in nature without knowing." Merlin smiled at Gwen in the silence that followed. They both drank their tea and listened to the sounds of the knights training and various experiments Merlin had running upstairs.

"I really do have magic, then?"

"It seems so. I can barely sense it even when you are sitting directly across from me. However, if you'd allow me...." He stood and reached forward to grasp her hand. She consented and immediately was hit with a wave of Merlin's magic before he threw up a wall with a muttered apology.

_Now this is going to sound strange, but I need you to close your eyes and reach down deep inside of you. Let your instincts lead you. I'll help too._

Gwen shut her eyes and tried to follow his instructions. After a couple deep breaths, she felt a pull of sorts in a downward direction. It felt familiar so she followed the tug. Another familiar presence came alongside.

_That’s it, just keep going to the centre of your being._

She continued to travel deeper until she felt the small tug end in a swirling mass of power. Gwen gasped aloud at how wonderful it was. She felt around in this small cavern, exploring this new found power within herself. It was like being a child again at the first snowfall, incredibly exciting and new. Much too soon she felt Merlin tugging her upwards and leading her back. She tried to protest but her will was no match for his. She felt herself rising to the surface and her eyes flew open.

"Why did you pull me out?"

"Because a person can get lost in their own self and begin to waste away. We have been sitting here nearly two hours now. You are already going to be stiff and hungry. No need to continue any further." He handed her a plate with some bread and warm soup. She took a small bite of bread and then realised she was starving. She began furiously slurping the soup, grateful for the privacy of Merlin's tower.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

He shrugged and busied himself scribbling notes at his table. "Not hungry."

"So what I felt, that was my magic?" Gwen asked when she had slowed down.

"Yes. You can think of it like a barrel of water that is always in your room. You can always access that power. You may not be able to use all of it at the beginning, but that comes with time.” Merlin began to pace around the room as he explained. “Everyone has at least a little bit of innate power. Just part of being alive. For most people it is just a drop of water compared even with your amount. These people would never be able to use magic, however hard they tried.

On the other end of the spectra, some people have so much magic that the magic will start to act out on its own when the person is young. This is the case with many Druids which is why you see so many children running around with sparkles trailing them or colourful bubbles.

Others, like yourself, like Gaius, have the potential but must learn to draw their power from outside sources in order to do magic."

"But if I need to draw magic from elsewhere, what is the point of having this other power inside of me?" Gwen asked, setting down her food and crossing her arms.

"You can use it, it's just harder to replenish." He frowned for a moment and scratched his head. "Back to the water barrel analogy. If you keep that in your room and instead drink only water from the kitchens, from a stream, or offered to you by a friend, then your barrel will always remain full and you can use it in emergencies. However, if you deplete your water supply, you will have to wait for it to rain again. That will take time to refill completely. The only strange way that reasoning breaks downs is if someone steals your personal water barrel, then you can no longer get water from any other source."

"Which is what happened to you before Camlaan, right?" He nodded. "So how did you get your water barrel back?" Merlin let out a humourless laugh.

"I'm not sure I ever did get mine back. I think Destiny just made the world my personal water barrel. I suggest you simply avoid the situation altogether."

"I'll do my best," she quipped. "So, how am I able to understand the fortune cards?"

"You have probably been using the tiniest bit of your own magic. Such a small amount that your eyes do not change at all."

"I thought the eyes always glowed when you used magic."

"Not always.” He stopped walking and turned so she could see his eyes. “In general the brightness of the glow increases as the magic being used increases. But it's also dependent on the individual too. Because you have never been taught, calling that spoon over to you would probably exhaust you. But for me." The spoon flew over to his outstretched hand with not a flicker of gold in his eyes. "With the fortune cards, you aren't using a lot of magic so it's just helping you get a feel for what the card mostly means and sometimes what card relates most for the day. With more magic you could probably understand more intricacies of the cards and be able to understand how they can work together and make predictions further ahead than just that day."

"Can you teach me?" she asked excitedly. Merlin leaned back against the staircase.

"I'm not sure. I have never needed to reach outwards for my magic so I wouldn't know how to tell you to do that. And I try to stay far away from means of seeing the future after past experiences. I can help make it easier for you to access more of your power sooner but that's all. So you would have to ask one of the Druid elders to help you. I'm sure they would be delighted to. Although, you should speak with Arthur first about all this. He doesn't like being kept in the dark and he is still a little touchy about magic."

"Speaking of Arthur." Gwen stood up. "He will probably be wondering where I am soon. I should go find out where he is."

"He is meeting with Leon to discuss possible promotions of squires. He should be back in his room within the hour. I would not recommend talking to him about this tonight though as he has to judge a flower arrangement competition tonight and he has been complaining all week. He's of the opinion that judging all the girly things should've become your duty once you became Queen. His words, not mine." He held up his hands in surrender before Gwen could begin lecturing the wrong person.

"Did you memorise his schedule?" She settled for asking the important question.

"His schedule must be approved by me before he even sees it. Arthur knows nothing of that. I don't think he ever wonders who makes his schedule or why there are free periods right around the time he gets irritable. Just don't tell him I have anything to do with it," he finished with a mischievous grin.

Gwen chuckled and shook her head. "I had thought those schedules were too perfect. Do you also approve mine?" Merlin said nothing. "Alright don't tell me then. I won't say anything to Arthur about it either." Gwen walked to the door before turning around with her hand on the door. "Thank you Merlin." Her eyes told him that she was thanking him for much more than rearranging their schedules.

"That's what I'm here for, Gwen."

  
Fin.


End file.
